Something to know before college about alcohol and sexual assault

Warning to teachers: This item is about drinking and sexual abuse, and the connection between the two. We know high school students are not old enough to drink legally, but operating on the assumption that at some point, they will be, we thought it was important to include this story.

A recent articleby Emily Yoffe on Slate.com (and a second column) has stirred up much controversy. She advocated the idea that young women need to recognize the link between excessive drinking and rape. Yoffe writes, "we are failing to let women know that when they render themselves defenseless, terrible things can be done to them." Some readers looked at this warning and interpreted it as blaming the woman for getting raped. Rather than trying to tackle the monstrous project of making drastic changes to college drinking culture, Yoffe suggests that educating women on their increased chances of getting raped when intoxicated is more effective in preventing sexual assault. The article mentions that "more than 80 percent of campus sexual assaults involve alcohol." Using these statistics to raise awareness and instilling the idea that safety begins with your own choices is what Yoffe hoped to do, yet many say this removes the blame from the men and puts it on the women. What do you think? Tweet us your opinion @tbtwo.